Boddisathva
The Ashan Boddisathva (Ashtari: Similar to the Valkyri) are deistic Elves '''on a pilgrimage of ascension. They dwell in '''Amravati '''in '''Abydos '''and are considered '''Pariah '''by the '''Asha. History The Asha consider the gods who created the world to be vile, awful and cruel beings. However, the gods created the Elves of the world and created them in the primordial darkness of creation, before the sun stood in the sky. The Elves believes this makes them partly divine: They have seen the light, as have other mortals, but their immortal souls still remember the promordial darkness, before there was a sun. And so, the Asha believe that all elven souls still have a divine spark, which connects them to the dark and divine world of the gods, and this spark is what allows the elves to wield magic in ways other races can not. While the Asha acknowledge their power, they do not worship their gods - not since the''' immortal wars''' between the divine realms and''' the Underworld', where Asha legends claim that Asha, Amesha (Wind Elves), '''Shauntii', Kaaradi and dwarves banded together in an uneasy alliance to wage war against the gods of Duat. However, the Sura '''and '''Asura of Duat were not all vile or cruel beings. Some were compassionate and sided with the Asha against their brethren gods, even though it would mean that they themselves would be forever imprisoned in the depths of Duat, beyond the gates of Amravati. It is believed that the language of the gods, Mehndi, was taught to the Asha by the gods Mohini Sura and Kalishida-Ma Asura. It allowed the Asha to empower their bodies, minds and spirits by drawing upon the dwarven technique of rune scribing to inscribe the Mehndi words on their own bodies, thus forcing their bodies, mind and souls to unite and enable them to draw upon the primordial powers of the abyss. Fire and Water, Destruction and Magic, Light and Shadow. The six elements '''that had only been available to the Asha through their ritualistic '''Heka '''were now more readily available to them through Mehndi, and this is said, by the Asha, to have turned the tide of the war and bring and end to what the people above call the '''Age of Mythology. General Boddisathva are considered Pariah '''to the Asha - untouchables. They are feared, loathed and deeply respected, all at once. As there are no longer any '''gods '''to war against, the Asha consider the use of Mehndi to be worrysome. They acknowledge it's many uses in every day life, and it is not uncommon for Asha '''Thaumaturges '''to offer their services to Asha everywhere. An Asha Thaumaturge will create colour paste from crushed '''Kurii-leaves and water and use their nails to paint surface-deep tatoo's into the Asha body, which will stimulate the elven soul and allow the Asha to wield Mehndi magic. These tatoos fade after a few days, and can be re-applied as many times as necessary. However, the Boddisathva are Asha who overreach. The Boddisathva are Asha who believe that the elven people of the world have forgotten and forsaken their divine origins, and are content to live short lives. The Boddisathva leave the comforts of Abydos '''and '''Shambala '''and travel to '''dwarven lands to trade for precious metals, which they then bring back to the Thaumaturges in Abydos. The Mehndi tatoos made with these metals never fade, and puts the Boddisathva in a permanent connection between her body, mind and soul, altering her state of counscience to be always somewhere in between sleep and wakefulness. Boddisathva have extremely extended lifespans, even for an elf. Whereas the normal time span of modern elves range in the centuries (3-400 years on average for Asha), there are records of Boddisathva's having survived for almost a thousand years. The longer a Boddisathva lives, the more dramatic his or her appearance changes. Boddisatvhas resemble less and less their elven origins and appear more as the terrible Daeva of their old legends - their skin turns deep blue, and sometimes their Mehndi tatoos take on a eerie, luminscent glow. They become removed from the every day happenings of society (helped, in part, by the rest of the Asha shunning them) and become more and more transfixed on the ideas of death, and what it means to really die. The most disturbing change is that enduring Boddisathvas' eventually start growing more arms and shoulders - becoming elven mock replicas of the terrible gods of old. The Boddisathva will eventually stop partaking in food, drink and sleep - and spend more and more time in meditation. Their shunning by the Asha makes many Boddisathva wander the worlds above, where non-elves races 'would be hard pressed to recognise the Boddisathva to be of Asha origin, having changed so dramatically. The 'Amesha may recognise a Boddisathva for what it truly is, and unlike their Asha brethren, look upon the Boddisathva favourably. To the Amesha, a Boddisathva (Or Valkyria in the Ashkari tongue) might be the pinnacle of what all elves should transpire to reach - an attempt to reach back to the divine origins of their race, without bending their knee to slavery or debt to cruel gods. Boddisathva are gentle beings, respectful and warm to all they encounter. Many pirates and robbers of other races who encounter Boddisathva are disturbed by the Boddisathva's seeming lack of fear - for the Boddisathva do not appear to be afraid of death as much as they are fascinated by it. These gentle wanderers are on a constant pilgrimage, often by foot, across all of the worlds above and below, wanting nothing else than to learn from everyone and everything. The Boddisathva rejoice in the soothing breeze of Amesha holdings, marvel at the crafting of dwarven ruins, smile at how high in the sky reach the Tajaran '''castle towers and can spend years doing nothing but smelling the thousands upon thousand of exotic flowers of Tartarion'. As much as they are feared and avoided by the other Asha in Abydos, the Asha holds a deep respect for the Boddisathva. Their status as Pariah means that they must never be physically touched - and this is as much out of fear and distrust as it is out of respect and awe - an Asha would not wish to taint a Boddisathva's pure spirit by touching them. Senior Boddisathva alone are allowed to dwell around Amravati. Amravati is sealed off to the '''living', but the most senior of Boddisathva are not considered to be alive, nor are they considered to be dead. They do not eat, sleep or drink. Indeed, the most senior of Boddisathva spend the last centuries of their life, sitting perfectly still in meditation amidst the floating necropolis of Amravati, pondering the mysteries of life. Every once in a while, a Boddisathva will open her eyes and rise up... And decide that life can teach her no more, she must now undertake''' the final pilgrimage'. And so, the final act of a Boddisathva, as far as the Asha know, is to take a solitary pilgrimage into the depths of Amravati, and pass through' the gate''' to Duat. As Boddisathvas' are an extreme rarity, and most of them do not survive long enough to become senior and thus settle in Amravati, as well as the fact that non-Boddisathvas are not allowed in or near Amravati, nobody knows the source of the Asha legends, and none can confirm or deny them. Rumours abound in Abydos is that in the last two centuries, for the very first time, there have been sightings of Boddisathva in the surface world that are NOT Asha. Such rumours are often dismissed. Trivia The Boddisathva bear similarities with the Daeva and'' Era'thora'' , hinting at a common ancestor of sorts. In Buddhist '''mythology, a '''Bodisattva was considered a wise being on the path to enlightenment, but also a person who had become enlightened and chose to return to guide others.